Northlander Receives State Honors For Minnesota’s Towards Zero Deaths Program

A Grand Rapids woman was among those recently honored for their part in Minnesota's Towards Zero Death program; Amy Kuschel - who serves as the statewide coordinator for the Minnesota State Judicial Branch received her acknowledgement at a recent TZD Conference that was held in Mankato on October 23 and 24.

Kuschel advocates for drug treatment courts to help change the behavior of drug and DWI offenders at the local, state, and national levels. She is a faculty member for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and trains teams nationally on implementing drug courts in their jurisdictions. She collaborated with the Department of Public Safety to bring national best practice trainings to DWI Court teams throughout the state.  Prior to this position, she was the Treatment Courts Supervisor for the Ninth Judicial District and coordinated the Itasca County Wellness Court and the Beltami DWI Court.

The Minnesota Towards Zero Death Program is an interdisciplinary partnership with the state departments of health, transportation, and public safety.